


A Change In Timing

by Contrail



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Friends, F/M, Pen Pals, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2018-09-13 18:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9137125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Contrail/pseuds/Contrail
Summary: When a rain-shrouded young girl arrives at the scene of a thief's defeat just a little bit early, she meets a certain ice mage long before she would have otherwise. How will this early meeting affect their futures? [Diverges from Ice Trail chapter 8]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, and is being used without permission. No profit is being made from this story.
> 
> **Notes:** Based off of Gray and Juvia's near miss in Fairy Tail Ice Trail chapter 8. I know Juvia appears to talk in first person in that, but I'm not sure if that's a continuity error or not, and I'm used to writing her talking in third person, so I decided to go with third person for her speech in this.

Juvia could feel her heart sinking in her chest with each step she took down the street. She'd returned to where she'd lost the gift she was bringing to her uncle, but had been unable to find a trace of it. It looked like it was well and truly gone. Sighing to herself, she was continuing down the road when a loud cry up ahead grabbed her attention. There was a large crowd gathered, yelling something about a… thief? Wondering if it might have something to do with her gift's disappearance, she walked towards the crowd as quickly as her little legs would carry her.

By the time she got there, the crowd had already mostly dispersed. A boy close to her age was still squatting there, though, examining a stained bag full of something with a frown. "Damnit… This thing's toast…"

"Is something the matter?" The question was asked by a quiet voice, but the unexpected sound still almost made Gray jump out of his skin. Turning to the source of the question, he found that a girl had managed to sneak up on him while he was occupied with examining the bag of golden cotton. She looked to be a little younger than him, and looked to be well prepared for the unexpected rain, carrying an umbrella and even having a teru teru bozu pinned to the front of her coat.

He scratched the back of his head as he answered, "Er, well, there was something really valuable in here, but the rain… kinda ruined it."

"Oh." The girl looked down at her shoes, the corners of her mouth drooping. "Juvia is sorry."

Gray blinked at her. "Why? It's not like the weather's your fault."

But that statement only seemed to upset her further. "But it is!" she insisted, sniffling. "Juvia brought the rain with her!" As if to confirm her tale, the rain was growing heavier around them.

He was starting to panic - he didn't know what to do with crying girls, particularly not ones who apparently made it rain when they cried! "Uh, well, it's not like you meant to ruin it, right?"

Juvia looked up at him and nodded cautiously, the rain lightening a little.

Letting out a relieved breath, he continued, "And you must have powerful magic if you can change the weather like that."

She looked down again, fingers twisting the hem of her coat. "But Juvia can't control it at all. It just rains wherever she goes."

"It takes time and training to get good at magic, y'know. Once you can control yours, I'm sure you'll be really strong," he reassured her. "Someday all your clouds will clear away and you'll see the blue sky."

Eyes wide, she looked up at him again, a tentative but hopeful smile on her face. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod, happy that she seemed to be cheering up. It was now barely drizzling. "And rain's not all bad. It waters plants, and leaves puddles that are fun to splash in."

Her cheeks looking a bit pink, she looked away shyly. "Nobody's ever said anything that nice about Juvia and her rain before." Gray frowned a little at that - not ever? - but before he could say anything more, her eyes widened as she gasped. "Oh! There's Juvia's present! She thought she lost it, or…"

"I guess that stupid thief must've took it with the other stuff, but I got him good!" Gray smirked a little, remembering how he'd clobbered that guy.

Having moved over to where her gift was lying and picked up, she turned back towards him, a confused expression on her face. "You did? How…?"

"With my magic! I'm an Ice-Make Mage, see?" He brought his hands together in the right pose and quickly made a teru teru bozu to match the one attached to her coat.

Stepping closer to him, she peered curiously at the ice creation, a smile slowly stretching across her face. "Wow, that's amazing!" He couldn't help grinning at her reaction. After a few more moments of carefully examining the figure resting in his palm, she shifted her focus back to him and asked, "Um, what's your name?"

"I'm Gray."

"Gray-… sama," she decided with a small nod. "Juvia is Juvia, and she thanks you very much for stopping the thief. She would have lost this, otherwise."

He blinked at her. He didn't think he'd ever had anyone address him with such a respectful suffix before, but he couldn't say he really minded it. "Uh, sure. No problem."

"Juvia just wishes she had some way to reward you, and make up for ruining your things, but she has nothing to give you…" Her voice trailed off as she looked away sadly, only to perk up a few moments later as an idea occurred to her. "She could make something and send it to Gray-sama later."

"You don't have to go that far…" Not that he objected to the idea of getting a reward, but really, she didn't have to go out of her way like that to do so. "Besides, I don't have anywhere for you to send it to."

A puzzled frown crossed her face. "You don't? But then where do you live?"

He looked a way, rubbing the back of his head again. "I don't. Live anywhere, that is." Seeing her expression growing concerned, he took a nervous glance at the sky, which was still somewhat overcast even though the rain had stopped a while back. "But this guy told me about a guild called Fairy Tail over in Magnolia, so that's where I'm heading."

Relaxing at his words, she nodded. "If Gray-sama joins a guild, he won't have trouble finding somewhere to stay. Juvia's uncle recently became the master of a guild, so she should know. But that doesn't tell Juvia where she should send the reward…"

"I told you, you don't need to…"

She ignored him as she started to dig through the bag she was carrying. "Juvia knows, she can give Gray-sama her address! That way, once he's settled somewhere in Magnolia, he can write her to let her know where to send his reward to." She smiled as she pulled out a notepad and pencil from her bag.

Gray sighed. It was obvious that he wasn't going to convince her not to do this. He supposed it was kind of sweet of her, to be so concerned about rewarding him for getting her present back and making up for ruining the golden cotton.

Once she was done writing her address down, she tore the sheet out of the notepad and handed it to him. "Don't forget to write. Juvia should be going now, or she might miss her train…" She turned and started to walk away, only to look back at him after a few steps. "Juvia is glad she met Gray-sama!" With a small wave, she took her leave.

He smiled at her retreating back, then frowned. With the golden cotton ruined, he still didn't have a way to pay for his own train ticket. Thankfully, a wealthy businessman who wished to reward him turned up shortly to get him out of that particular pickle, and he left the town under clearing skies.


	2. Chapter 2

Gray let out a relieved sigh as he shut the door to his new room. The last couple of days had been hectic - there'd been lots of unexpected complications on the way to getting into Fairy Tail. But he was officially a member now - he had the guild's mark stamped on his chest and everything. When Fairy Tail's guild master learned that he didn't have anywhere to stay in town, he'd suggested that Gray stay at a local church that took in orphans. Most places wouldn't rent to someone as young as he was without an adult being involved, and Gramps thought he was a little young still to be living all on his own anyway.

Not having a better idea, Gray had agreed. The master had called over a young girl named Cana, one of the few other members around his age, and asked her to show him where the church was. As they walked together, Gray found out that she lived there, too. He couldn't help wondering a little what had happened to her parents, and what had brought her to Fairy Tail, but he refrained from asking. It's not like he knew her that well, to ask about things like that. Plus bringing that stuff up might make her ask about _his_ parents…

After talking to the head priest for a bit, he had permission to stay there as long as he needed to. With that settled, Father Block had assigned a room to him. The room wasn't very large, with barely enough room for a bed, a desk, a set of shelves, and a dresser for clothes. But it was better than trying to scrape enough money to stay somewhere (if he could find one) or sleeping on the side of the road.

Setting the pack the cranky old lady had given him down on the floor, he started digging through the contents. In addition to another set of clothes (that were just as old-fashioned as the other pair he'd been given, but beggars can't be choosers) he found the ruined jacket and pants he'd been wearing during the fight against Circus Night. Searching through the pockets for anything important, he frowned a little when he felt something crinkle in his grasp.

Pulling it out, he discovered a folded up piece of paper. Not quite remembering where he got it from, he carefully unfolded it, smoothing out some wrinkles in it. Seeing an address written on it brought back the memory of meeting that girl who made it rain. She'd wanted him to write to her so she could send him a reward.

Looking down at the slip of paper, he briefly considered just tossing it. He didn't really care whether she sent him something or not. He'd defeated Doronbo to get his own stuff back, not because he was trying to get any sort of reward. But then her remembered how downcast she'd been when talking about how she made it rain, and how she'd smiled when he'd tried to cheer her up. _Nobody's ever said anything that nice about Juvia and her rain before._ It wouldn't take that much effort to send her a letter, and it'd probably make her happy.

After managing to convince one of the priests to give him an envelope, a piece of paper, and a pencil, he sat down at his desk and started to write.

> Hi Juvia,
> 
> This is Gray. I managed to get into Fairy Tail after running into a little bit of trouble on the way. I have a place to stay now, so you can send things to me at the following address:
> 
> 295 Quince Street  
>  Magnolia  
>  Fiore
> 
> I guess I'll hear from you soon.
> 
> \- Gray Fullbuster

After sending the letter off, the subject soon left his mind. He had the excitement of taking on jobs as a member of an official guild to think about, after all. But a couple of weeks later, Gray received a soft, squishy package in the mail. Taking it to his room and opening it, he discovered a letter and a gray object made of cloth. Unfolding it, he saw that it was actually a scarf. The knitting was a bit uneven and it had a few apparent flaws in it, signs of the maker's inexperience. Setting the scarf aside, he started reading the letter that accompanied it.

> Dear Gray-sama,
> 
> Juvia was very happy to receive your letter. She is also glad that you were able to join Fairy Tail, though she is a little worried about the trouble you mentioned running into. You weren't hurt badly, were you?
> 
> Juvia didn't have any more problems reaching her uncle after she got on her train. The sky even almost cleared up while the train was leaving the station. Juvia really hopes she'll get to see what a blue sky looks like someday.
> 
> Uncle seemed to be pleased with the gift Juvia brought with her, even though she wasn't sure if he'd like, since she'd never met him before. But since he will be responsible for Juvia from now on, he wanted to see her at least once.
> 
> Like Juvia told you before, Uncle is the master of a mage guild, so he wanted to see how much potential she had while she was there. Some of the things he had Juvia do were weird, and she was very tired afterwards. But Uncle said that Juvia would probably be a really strong mage when she got older! He also said that she had a strong affinity for water magic, and that might have something to do with the rain that follows Juvia around. Maybe if she learns enough, she'll be able make the rain stop.
> 
> After she stayed at Uncle's for a week or so, he sent Juvia back home with some books on magic to study. He also sent Agnes-san with her, because Juvia isn't old enough to take care of herself. Agnes-san does all of the cooking and cleaning, but she lets Juvia help sometimes. Juvia wants to learn how to do those things so she can take care of herself someday, and won't have to trouble Agnes-san anymore.
> 
> Agnes-san also helped Juvia make your reward! Juvia wasn't sure what to get you at first, but she thought that you'd like something she made herself. And your magic and your coat made Juvia think of winter, and scarves are nice to have when it's cold outside, aren't they? She chose the color to match your name, too. Juvia really hopes you'll like it!
> 
> Could you tell Juvia what it's like to be part of a mage guild? She wants to know because she wants to join one once she's older and better at magic, but she doesn't want to bug Uncle with too many questions. Plus she'd like to know if you're doing well or not.
> 
> With love,  
>  \- Juvia Lockser

Setting down the letter, Gray took another look at the scarf. He was an ice mage, used to feeling the cold, so he didn't really need a scarf, and it wasn't that well made… Yet knowing that she'd worked hard to make it, thinking of him all the while, filled him with a weird, warm feeling. Well, he guessed he could wear it when it got colder, even if he didn't really need it.

Reading over Juvia's letter a second time, his lips started turning down into a frown. She'd said that her uncle was responsible for her now, the letter didn't mention her parents at all, and her uncle had felt the need to hire someone to look after her. Like his parents, were Juvia's…? Well, whatever was the case, he wouldn't ask. If she wanted to tell him about them, she would.

Juvia had asked him some stuff, hadn't she? Gramps had made sure to impress upon him that there was some stuff he shouldn't tell people outside of the guild, but he should be able to share some stories about missions and stuff, right? When he'd sent that first letter, he'd expected that she'd send him something and that would be that. But it wouldn't take that much time to write her back, and she'd put a lot of effort into that scarf for him…

So he pulled out another sheet of paper and started writing.

> Hi Juvia,
> 
> The scarf you sent me is nice, so thanks. And no, I didn't get too badly hurt. I'm strong, so you don't have to worry about me.
> 
> As for being part of a mage guild, I don't know what ones other than Fairy Tail are like, but the people here are kind of rowdy, though they're fun, too. All kinds of different jobs are posted on the mission board here, and there's another one with even harder jobs that only the strongest members of the guild can take on. I'm definitely going to become strong enough to do those one day!
> 
> I'm not surprised your uncle told you you'd be strong someday. Didn't I say that you had to be strong to make it rain like that? It's cool that you're good with water magic, since water and ice are related.
> 
> I hope you're doing well.
> 
> \- Gray Fullbuster

And that's the way a correspondence that would last for years started.


	3. Chapter 3

Gray's letters to Juvia usually talked about mischief he and Cana had gotten into, or interesting things he'd seen or done while doing jobs, while Juvia's usually were about magic she was studying or things she was learning from her housekeeper. Gray would occasionally forget to reply to Juvia's letters, but she would keep sending them regardless, and he'd always feel guilty when he realized he'd been ignoring her. She went to a school that taught normal subjects in addition to studying magic at home, and while she tried not to dwell on it in her letters it was clear that none of the other kids at her school liked her. So really, he was the only friend she had, he'd be a jerk if he just stopped responding to her. Besides, telling her about what he was up to was kinda fun.

Months passed with them exchanging letters like this. In time, Juvia's letters began expressing increasing frustration with the fact that, while she was doing well in her efforts to master the use of water magic, she was no closer to finding a way to get rid of the ever present rain that followed her. Obviously, Gray didn't know enough about different types of magic to be able to help her, but it eventually occurred to him that he knew someone who did. Gramps knew a lot about magic - he knew how Iced Shell worked even though he didn't use ice magic, for example - and while running the guild usually kept him pretty busy, he always did his best to make time to listen to the kids' questions and concerns.

After Gray explained Juvia's problem to Gramps, the old man frowned, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Magic that deliberately changes the weather is not uncommon, but to have such effects unintentionally… Some sort of curse, perhaps, or maybe a family trait… I'm afraid it would take much more time than I have to spare to find an answer for this friend of yours."

Feeling a bit disappointed, Gray nodded to indicate he understood. "Thanks anyways, Gramps."

"Please tell them not to give up, and that I hope they will find a way to stop the rain from falling."

"Will do."

When Gray sent Juvia a letter telling her about his talk with Gramps, he was a bit surprised by the response he got back.

> Dear Gray-sama,
> 
> It was very sweet of you to ask your guild's Master about Juvia's rain. But really, you didn't need to try to do anything about it - it's Juvia's problem to deal with, after all. If it's a rare problem like you say, though, then that helps explain why Juvia hasn't found any information about it yet. She'll just have to keep searching for answers, and maybe someday Juvia'll get to see a blue sky.
> 
> With love,  
>  Juvia Lockser

He shook his head, and wrote back a quick reply that duh, they were friends, of course he'd try to help her if he could.

More time passed, and gradually more children joined Fairy Tail, starting with Erza, and then Natsu a year later. Stories of the antics he got into with them found their way into his letters to Juvia. She eventually admitted that she was kind of jealous, and wished she had friends she could have fun with like he did. Honestly, he didn't think some of the stuff he described qualified as fun (like when Erza forced him and Natsu to take baths with her), but he tried to reassure her that she'd be able to make friends of her own once she joined her uncle's guild.

One day, Gray was reading one of Juvia's letters in the guild's main hall, not paying much attention to his surroundings. That's why he didn't notice Natsu standing next to him and looking over his shoulder until Natsu asked, "Whatcha reading?" and snatched the letter out of his hand to take a look at.

Jumping up from where he'd been sitting, Gray reached out to grab the letter back. "Hey! That's mine!"

Natsu managed to keep the letter away from Gray long enough to scan the beginning and end of it. "Oooh, it's from a girl! Does _'Gray-sama'_ have a girlfriend?!"

"Give it back! Juvia's just a friend!" An embarrassed Gray yelled as he tackled Natsu to the floor and they started wrestling with each other for control of the letter. They struggled with each other, shouting insults back and forth, for a few minutes before they each felt a strong hand grip their collar and pull them apart.

Looking up with great trepidation, they found what they expected (but dreaded) - a scowling Erza holding them apart from each other. "Are you two fighting?" she growled at them.

Natsu quickly shook his head no but Gray looked down and grumbled, "He took a letter a friend sent me."

Erza sighed. "How many times must I tell you not to just take things from other people, Natsu? Give Gray his letter back."

Natsu pouted as he begrudgingly held out the letter to Gray. "I wasn't going to keep it! I just wanted to see what it was…"

Gray accept it, frowning when he noticed how wrinkled the letter had gotten during their fight. At least the flame brained idiot hadn't set it on fire. Letting go of their collars, Erza continued lecturing Natsu on proper behavior. Standing where Erza couldn't see him, Gray made a face at Natsu before leaving the guild hall. He was definitely going to avoid reading Juvia's letters there in the future.

Juvia and Gray sometimes talked about meeting up in person again, but that was something easier said than done. Gray didn't really have the money to travel for fun - most of what he made from jobs went to keeping him clothed (damn stripping habit) or towards travel expenses for his jobs. While Juvia would've had to ask her uncle to pay for any trips she went on, and she was pretty reluctant to ask him to do that so she could meet someone her uncle had never met and knew little about.

It wasn't until Juvia's twelfth birthday that they saw each other face to face again. Gray had managed to scrape enough jewel together for a train ticket to Juvia's hometown and a present. A narrow river with banks lined with willow trees ran through the middle of the small town. Juvia's house was located on the outskirts of the town, a decent sized two-story home that looked well-kept. A light drizzle was falling over the area around it, so Gray was carrying an umbrella with him.

Knocking on the door, it was soon answered by a middle-aged woman with a pleasant smile. "Please come in. The young miss is waiting for you in the living room." The housekeeper started leading him in that direction but they hadn't gone far when they caught sight of Juvia racing towards them.

"Gray-sama! You really came!" A wide smile stretched across her face.

"'Course I did. I said I was going to, didn't I?" Gray rubbed the back of his head, a little awkward in the face of such an enthusiastic reaction to his presence. Thrusting a small gift-wrapped package towards her, he continued, "Um, happy birthday. Here, I brought you a present."

"For Juvia?!" Somehow, her smile managed to get even wider at this. Carefully pealing the wrapping paper away, she opened the box to reveal a simple glass pendant in the shape of a teru teru bozu doll, hung on a silver chain. "Oh, it's pretty!"

Gray shrugged. "It wasn't expensive or nothing, I just got it because it reminded me of when we first met."

"Still, Juvia loves it! She'll treasure it forever!" He was spared having to come up with an answer for that declaration when Juvia finished putting the necklace on and grabbed one of his hands and started pulling him deeper into the house. "Agnes-san made Juvia's favorite dish for lunch today, she hopes you like it!"

He soon found himself sitting at the dining room table, an admitted delicious pasta dish set in front of him. Gray looked up from his food when Juvia asked, "Has Natsu-san gotten into any trouble since your last letter?"

Smirking, he replied, "Oh, man, has he ever!" Gray launched into the story, which left Juvia giggling and shaking her head. The initial awkwardness easing, they found it as easy to talk with each other as it was to write. They played a few card games together and watched a movie lacrima.

When they went outside afterwards so that Juvia could show him more of the property, it wasn't even drizzling anymore, and the cloud cover was thin enough that they could barely make out the outline of the sun through it. The late February air was chilly, but Juvia was dressed warmly and the cold rarely bothered Gray, so they didn't mind.

"Uncle thinks Juvia will be ready to join his guild in another year or so," she commented as they walked.

"Really? That's great! Y'know, I'd like to fight you some time," Gray responded.

"Eh? Fight Juvia?" She cocked her head to the side.

"Not seriously, I meant like a sparring match or something," Gray clarified. "It'd be fun to see which of us is stronger."

"Maybe someday," Juvia agreed with a small smile.

When it came time for Gray to leave, Juvia abruptly threw her arms around him as he stood in the doorway. "Thank you so much for coming! This was Juvia's best birthday ever."

Patting her head a little awkwardly as he let her hug him, he smiled down at her. "I had fun, too."

Releasing him, she looked up at him hopefully. "Maybe Gray-sama could come again next year."

"Maybe. Anyway, I really need to get going if I'm going to catch my train. Bye!"

"Goodbye!" With a last wave, Gray headed back towards the train station. It was a little sad that even having a single person there for her birthday was rare enough to make her so happy, but he was glad he'd been able to give her a reason to smile.


	4. Chapter 4

Another year passed. During that time Gray started making enough from jobs, and was old enough, that he moved out of the orphanage and into the male dorm that the guild ran. But due to the new expenses, he wasn't able to save enough to visit Juvia on her birthday again. She assured him that it was fine if he wasn't able to come, but memories of how happy she'd been to have him there last year still made him feel guilty.

A couple of months later, he found himself frowning at the latest letter he'd gotten from her. The previous one had been full of excitement over her uncle telling her that she was finally ready to join his guild. But this letter…

> _Dear Gray-sama,_
> 
> _Juvia is now an official member of Phantom Lord, but… Almost everyone here is older than her by at least a few years. And no one seems to care much about their guild mates, not like you've told me Fairy Tail does. Everyone just cares about making money and being stronger than the others. She was looking forward to joining so much, but now she's not sure that she even wants to be here._
> 
> _Uncle wants Juvia to keep quiet about her being related to him, too. He said it's because he doesn't want the other guild members to think he would give her special treatment because she's his niece. That makes sense, but he's the only family she has left and she was hoping he would spend more time with her now that she's part of Phantom Lord. But she guesses that won't happen now._
> 
> _What do you think Juvia should do?_
>
>> _With love,_  
>  _Juvia Lockser_

It was kind of shocking that the guild she'd been talking about joining all this time was Phantom Lord. The relationship between that guild and Fairy Tail had always been somewhat tense at best. There were even rumors that that guild had been originally created to oppose Fairy Tail. Whether that was true, or if they just didn't get along because of their different attitudes, Gray couldn't say.

And that difference in attitude is what was making Juvia so unhappy to be part of that guild. Fairy Tail thought that supporting each other made them all stronger. Phantom Lord thought that the weak should get out of the way of the strong.

Sighing, he pulled out a sheet of paper and began to write, even though he wasn't sure how much he could help her.

> _Hi Juvia,_
> 
> _I'm sorry that the guild you joined isn't what you expected. Not all guilds are like Fairy Tail, unfortunately. I can't really tell you whether you should stay there or not - that's up to you. But if you do decide to leave Phantom Lord, I'm sure Fairy Tail would welcome you._
> 
> _If you choose to stay in Phantom Lord, maybe you could try befriend someone that's close to your age? I know you said that most of them are much older, but there's gotta be at least one or two that aren't that much older than you right?_
> 
> _As for your uncle, it sucks that he's still being distant. But being guild master seems to be a lot of work, so maybe that's part of it?_
>
>> _\- Gray Fullbuster_

* * *

Juvia tried to keep Gray's advice in mind when she walked into Phantom Lord's guild hall the next morning. Looking around, she saw Gajeel Redfox sitting alone at a table, everyone else giving him a wide berth. She knew why, too - she'd already seen him lash out at someone who disturbed him. Still, he was closer to her own age than the rest of the guild, and well… There just seemed to be an air of loneliness around him, despite his apparent standoffishness. Maybe she was able to recognize it because she was so used to loneliness herself.

She got herself something to eat, then cautiously carried it over to where Gajeel was sitting. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye when she sat down, but when she didn't try to talk to him or do anything except eat her food, he grunted and turned his attention back to his own meal. They ate in silence until Gajeel finished and got up to look at the posted jobs.

This pattern was repeated over the next few days, the two of them eating quietly together until one or the other of them went to get a job for the day. The other members couldn't seem to decide if she was brave or just crazy. But Gajeel was getting used to her presence - he didn't even look up when she sat down next to him anymore.

About a week after Juvia started doing this, her uncle called both of them into his office. With little preamble, Jose stated, "I've received a job that I'd like the two of you to complete together. I think your abilities will be well suited for handling it."

The two accepted the order, assuring Jose that the mission would be completed successfully. Looking over the mission flyer, it involved capturing a small group of dark mages, too small to even be considered a guild. Still the mission would take a few days, so they both agreed to go pack and meet at the train station later.

As they waited for the train in silence, Juvia fidgeted a little. Gajeel seemed to tolerate her presence well enough, but he'd never had to deal with taking her (and her rain) on a mission with him. Breaking the quiet, Juvia tentatively asked, "Does the rain bother Gajeel-san?"

The larger teen next to her just shrugged. "It's just some water. I'm tough enough to handle it."

She nodded, falling silent again. At least he wasn't complaining about it. Hopefully he'd continue to feel that way.

With Gajeel's sensitive nose, it didn't take him very long to find the targets while scouting ahead. As soon as they got close, Gajeel leapt into action, turning his arms into iron rods and laying about himself with them. Following his lead, Juvia captured a couple of mages who were trying to attack from a distance in her Water Lock, taking care to stay out of the way of Gajeel's strikes and staying in her Water Body form in case of unexpected attacks.

In only a few minutes, the dark mages were subdued and tied up so they could be dragged to the authorities in the nearby town, who were the ones who hired them. Once their targets had been turned in, Gajeel turned to her. "Not bad for a newbie," he allowed, and Juvia couldn't keep her lips from curling up into a small smile. She'd never heard of Gajeel even coming close to praising someone before.

They reported back to Jose when they returned to Oaktown, and he was pleased that they'd completed the mission with ease. "It seems the two of you work well together," he remarked. "I'll keep that in mind for the future."

Juvia simply nodded, while Gajeel shrugged. "She knows to stay out of my way, at least."

Over the next few months, they were sent out on the occasional mission together, and always completed them successfully. As they got more used to each others' company, they even started to talk some, though Juvia had to be careful of Gajeel's moods - if he didn't feel like talking, he made his opinion very plain.

It was as fall was starting to fade into winter that Juvia realized that Gajeel had truly accepted her as something close to a friend. They'd been assigned to take out a pack of bandits that hid themselves somewhere in a large stretch of forest. They'd baited some of the bandits into attacking them, and Juvia was concentrating on Water Locking a couple of them for just long enough so that they'd pass out so they could easily be questioned later. An iron rod whistled through the air behind her, barely missing the back of her hair to strike a bandit that had been sneaking up behind her.

As she whipped her head around towards him, he snapped, "Pay attention! You know better than to let your guard down!"

"Y-Yes!" Turning so that her back faced his, Juvia released the two bandits from her Water Lock and letting them fall to the ground unconscious. Taking in her surroundings, she fired lashes of water at the few bandits that were still up. They went down in short order, and Juvia let Gajeel rough up the ones she'd knocked out to get the location of the bandits' hideout out of them while she thought over what had just happened. She'd never expected Gajeel to look out for anyone but himself, and he'd expressed confidence in her skills, however backhandedly.

Dropping the last guy he was questioning back on the ground, Gajeel straightened up and walked over to her. "Did you find out what was needed?"

"Yeah. They're holed up in a cave system five miles up the river."

Nodding, she replied, "Then let's get going, Gajeel-kun! Sooner they're all taken out, the better, right?" As casually as she'd slipped the new honorific she'd decided to use for him into the conversation, she still held her breath a little as she waited for his reaction.

He raised an eyebrow at her, but just said, "Yeah, let's go." Falling into step beside him, she smiled a little to herself. That was probably about as good of an acceptance of the change as she was going to get from him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning:** This chapter contains Juvia's short lived relationship with Bora. Nothing really bad happens, but Bora's still a creep, so I wanted to give readers a heads up that they might find parts of this chapter uncomfortable. (To be honest, I got a little creeped out by him while writing this chapter.)

Gray felt relieved when Juvia’s letters became happier after a few months of being in Phantom Lord, though he was also a little disappointed that she hadn’t quit and joined Fairy Tail instead - it would’ve been nice to be able to see her in person regularly. But he could understand why she wanted to stay in her uncle’s guild - Phantom Lord’s master was her last living relative, and leaving the guild would be seen as a betrayal, particularly if she joined a rival guild like Fairy Tail.

Time continued its forward march, and about a year after Juvia joined Phantom Lord she wrote Gray to tell him that she’d been selected to be part of a special team of strong elemental mages called Element Four. She was the youngest of the four, too, at fourteen, with the next youngest being a fire mage named Totomaru who was five years her senior. He made sure to let her know that she should be proud of being chosen in the letter he wrote back to her, though he couldn’t help venting a little of his frustration with not having been chosen for the last S-Class trials Fairy Tail had held, even though Mira and Cana had been selected.

The seasons passed through their cycle another time. Gray was sitting in the guild hall on Valentine’s Day watching the antics of his guild mates while occasionally munching on one of the chocolates that Juvia has sent him. He looked up when Loke, who he’d hit it off with when the other young man had joined Fairy Tail several months ago, took the seat next to Gray while depositing a stack of boxes of chocolate on the table in front of him. Gray shifted his own box of chocolates over a little to make sure it didn’t get mixed up with Loke’s boxes. Raising an eyebrow, Gray commented with some amusement in his voice, “A little popular, aren’t you?”

“I can’t help it if my dashing good looks attract attention, now can I?” Loke preened. After a moment, he spotted the open box of chocolates in front of Gray and remarked, “It seems I’m not the only one with an admirer. Those even look handmade.”

Gray felt his cheeks start to warm a bit with the insinuation. “It’s not like that,” he told Loke, his shoulders hunching defensively. “Juvia’s just an old friend of mine. She doesn’t have a lot of friends and having someone to give chocolates to makes her happy, so I let her send some to me. That’s all.”

That apparently wasn’t enough to sate Loke’s interest in the subject, because he hmmmed and asked, “And do you give her White Day gifts back?”

Rolling his eyes, Gray replied, “Of course, I’m not clueless like Natsu. Just little things I know she’d like, though.”

Loke nodded. “And is she cute?”

“Um, uh… I don’t know… I haven’t seen her in the past three years. We’re mostly pen pals.” Now that Loke had brought it up, though, Gray couldn’t help wondering what Juvia would look like now. Over the past few years, the girls he’d grown up with had started growing curves where there hadn’t been any before, and he himself had grown more interested in the fact that women had these curves than he used to be. He could picture her smiling up at him the way she did the last time he saw her, with her hair in those odd curls she favored and dressed in one of the heavy coats she liked to wear, but taller and more filled out under the coat… The flush on his cheeks deepening, he looked away and cleared his throat. “Probably?”

Loke looked amused as he asked, “So can I get her address?”

Gray gave him a flat look. “Don’t you have enough girls panting after you without looking for more?”

Loke laughed. “Ah, but all beauty in this world deserves to be appreciated!” Calming a little, he continued, “Though if she’s around your age she might be a little young for me. If she is cute, however, I don’t think it’ll be long before other men notice it and start to show interest in her.”

“Maybe,” Gray allowed, but he found himself frowning a little at the thought. He’d flirted with some girls before while hanging out with Loke, but he’d had no intention of doing more than that. Other guys would probably want more, though, and he wasn’t sure Juvia would be able to handle that. She was a strong, capable mage that could easily defend herself physically, but she was also very lonely, even after joining Phantom Lord. Would she go along with things she didn’t want to do just to keep someone around?

A letter he received a couple of months later brought that conversation with Loke back to him.

> _Dear Gray-sama,_
> 
> _Juvia has a boyfriend now! His name is Bora, and he approached her while she was sitting in the park near the pond. He said that he’d never seen someone as lovely as Juvia so he just had to come over and talk to her!_
> 
> _Gajeel-kun doesn’t like him, but then Gajeel-kun doesn’t like anyone. He’s very handsome and has been very sweet to her. We’re meeting again for our first date in a few days. Juvia’s so excited!_
> 
> _With love,_  
>  _Juvia Lockser_

Gray frowned down at the letter, finding that he had to agree with Gajeel. This Bora guy just seemed too suspicious, coming out of nowhere to ask Juvia out. But if this dude was legit, he didn’t want to rain on her parade when she was so clearly happy about the situation. After wrestling with himself for a bit, he sent her a short note telling her that he hoped her date went well.

A couple of days after Juvia received Gray’s reply, she found herself on her second date with Bora. For their first date they’d gone to an ice cream parlor and spent a couple of hours there eating and talking. Bora had spent a lot of time telling her about missions he’d undertaken with his old guild, but also complimented her many times. It was very flattering - she was used to being told to go away, or barely being tolerated. And even the few friends she had never straight up admired her like this.

Her heart had dropped, though, when he’d suggested that they walk together in the park where they first met for their second date. Haltingly, she’d explained that it would be raining again when they went there, that it _always_ rained wherever she went. She’d thought she’d seen his face fall after she finished, but the next moment he had given her a smile so brilliant that she was sure she must have been imagining things. He reassured her a little rain wouldn’t ruin their day, because they could just carry umbrellas.

Now that they were walking through the park though, she couldn’t help but feel nervous about whether he’d change his mind. And that wasn’t the only thing she was nervous about - she knew that sooner or later, he would expect to kiss her, and she’d never kissed anyone before. They moved slowly through the park, following the paths somewhat aimlessly as Bora talked and Juvia concentrated on making the right noises of interest through her nervousness. She found herself wishing it was Gray walking with her instead of Bora - she’d never felt so uncomfortable and nervous around him.

Abruptly, Bora stopped walking and talking and turned towards her. Juvia fidgeted as he looked her over with intense scrutiny. She didn’t really have any clothes suitable for dates, but she’d put on one of her nicest looking coats, at least. Eventually, she bit her lip and ventured, “Bora-kun? Is everything alright?”

“Oh, everything’s fine,” he replied, reaching out to brush a lock of hair away from her face before resting his hand on her cheek, making her go a little pink. She clutched the handle of her umbrella tighter as he shifted closer and moved his hand so he could run his thumb against her bottom lip. “But I can think of better things you can use those gorgeous lips of yours for than _talking_.”

Juvia swallowed heavily and closed her eyes as Bora leaned in, his hand slipping under her chin. She let him tilt her chin up so their lips could touch. His lips on hers felt warm and a little moist, but she didn’t feel the sparks or fireworks that all the books she read had said would happen, but then, they’d probably exaggerated. Her heart _was_ pounding in her chest, though she wasn’t sure if it was from excitement or nerves. Bora began moving his mouth against hers after a moment, and that felt sort of nice, so she tentatively tried to match his movements.

Then she felt something wet and firm pressing against her lips and she jerked back in surprise. Bora looked at her and then just kind of shrugged apologetically. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. You don’t have much experience with this, do you?”

Juvia flushed and looked down. “N-no. Juvia hasn’t had a boyfriend before you.”

“I see.” There was something about the smile he gave her then that she didn’t like, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what. He reached out to cup her cheek again. “Then I’m glad I get to be the first to partake of your beauty.”

Leaning in a bit closer, he told her, “What startled you was my tongue. If you feel it again, you’re supposed to open your mouth to let it in. It’ll feel very good, I promise.”

“Al-alright,” she replied quietly. She let him seal his lips against hers again, and when she felt his tongue brush her lips, this time she opened them to let it in. Bora wasted no time in thrusting it roughly into her mouth, which didn’t really feel good like he said it would. But maybe she just needed to get used to it. The two of them kissed for a few minutes, then Bora walked her out of the park and arranged a time and place for their next date.

Over the next couple of months they continued to date, and Juvia was happy to have someone who thought she was beautiful and actually went out of his way to spend time with her. But, well… she thought she’d grow to enjoy kissing him more as she became more experienced with it, but it was only okay, not as great as the books she’d read made it out to be. Maybe they really had exaggerated how good it was? Though that didn’t explain why people seemed to like doing it so much… Sometimes she wondered if she’d feel the same way about kissing if she was kissing someone other than Bora. A few times she thought about what it might be like to kiss someone like Gray, and it made her heart pound and her cheeks flush. But then she’d chastise herself for thinking about kissing other guys when she had such a sweet boyfriend.

He was very sweet to her, always acting the perfect gentleman and paying for her on their dates, and telling her how beautiful she was, but… Over time, she started to get the feeling that he wasn’t that interested in hearing about what was happening in her life. Whenever she tried to tell him about one of her missions or the like, the conversation would somehow get turned around to him again, or he’d decide that he’d really like to kiss her then. So she gradually stopped trying to talk about herself at all. Her life must seem boring to an older, more experienced man, though Gray didn’t seem to find her letters boring…

During one of their dates, as they sat eating at a small cafe, Bora asked her, “You know I love you, right?”

Juvia nodded, a blush on her cheeks in response to his bold declaration.

“And you care for me too, right?” When she nodded again, he continued, “Then I hope you can find it in your heart to do me a small favor.”

“What kind of favor?” she asked with a bright smile. Bora rarely asked for anything from her other than her company, so if she could help him out she would.

“Well, I’ve told you about how I left my old guild because of a disagreement over methods,” he stated, and she nodded to let him know that she remembered. “But it’s hard for an independent mage to find decent jobs to take on. So I was wondering if you could help me get into Phantom Lord.”

She bit her lip. “Master Jose makes the final decisions on who can join the guild. But Juvia can get you an appointment with him, at least. You’ll have to convince him of your merit from there, however.”

Juvia thought frustration flashed in his eyes for a moment, but then he was smiling happily at her. “Even just that would be a great help, Juvia-chan.”

Smiling back, she told him, “If what you’ve said about your accomplishments as a mage are true, Juvia’s sure you’ll be welcome in Phantom Lord.”

But when she met him after his interview with her uncle, he was as angry as she had ever seen him. He paced across the grass of the park that they’d met in, shoving a hand roughly through his hair. “Your master said he didn’t think I had the right qualities to become a mage of Phantom Lord. Me!” Turning towards her, he questioned, “Can’t you make him reconsider?”

Juvia slowly shook her head. “When the Master makes a decision, he is rarely swayed from it.”

He stared at her for a long moment, and for the first time since she’d met him, she thought Bora might actually try to hurt her. But then the anger seemed to drain out of him as he turned away. “It’s fine. I’ll just have to find a different path to take. Thank you for doing what you could.” He smiled at her, but his heart didn’t seem to be in it.

Things were different between them after that, though. It seemed like she was making more and more mistakes around him, earning his ire with increasing frequency. About a month later, he had had enough. When they met for their next date in the park, he asked harshly, “Why must it always be raining around you?” She looked up at him, any defenses she tried to come up with dying in her throat. “I can’t take you fishing or camping or anything! I can’t go on like this - we’re through!”

Juvia had known he hadn’t as happy lately, but she wasn’t expecting _this_. He’d known about the rain almost from the beginning, so why now…? Finally finding her voice, she managed to stammer out, “B-but… you said you loved Juvia!”

Any hint of warmth for her had long since left his eyes as he looked down at her and said, “This constant rain has washed away the beauty that drew me to you.”

Eyes wide and filling with tears, Juvia stared after Bora as he turned and stalked out of her life. Heavy rains assailed Oaktown for the next couple of days as Juvia cried her eyes out and threw away every gift Bora had ever given her. That was how Gajeel found her when he returned from the week long mission he’d been on and traced the rain to her apartment. When he offered to 'hunt that scrawny bastard down for treating a member of Phantom Lord so disrespectfully', Juvia smiled for the first time since the break up, though she was quick to ask Gajeel not to go so far out of his way on her behalf. He grudgingly agreed, but let her know that if he ever ran across Bora by chance he’d let the other man experience his displeasure.

Gajeel‘s support helped, but Juvia remained subdued after her relationship with Bora ended. Her mood didn’t lift completely until she got a letter from Gray. Her last letter had contained the news of her breakup, and she was curious enough about his response that she ripped the envelope open and started reading it immediately, even though Gajeel was right there.

> _Hi Juvia,_
> 
> _I’m sorry to hear the news, and that guy is a Grade A jerk for treating you like that. If I ever run into him, I’ll make him regret what he did._
> 
> _You wondered in your last letter if it was dumb for you to hope to find someone who’ll love you despite the rain. Well, you’ve been sweet and caring for as long as I’ve known you, and I’m sure someday someone will see that and decide that it’s worth it to be with you, no matter what._
> 
> _Anyway, don’t let an asshole like that make you feel down about yourself._
> 
> __
> 
> _\- Gray Fullbuster_

By end of the letter, a broad smile stretched across her face at his kind words. From where he was standing next to her, Gajeel grunted, “You really like that guy who writes to you, huh?”

Juvia could feel her face flushing a bit. Gajeel was the only one of her guild mates that knew that she had a friend she exchanged letters with, and even he didn’t know much more than that. “W-what makes Gajeel-kun think that?”

“The rain gets lighter for a little bit whenever you get a letter from him,” he replied with a shrug.

She hadn’t really taken much note of it before, but he was right. “Um, well, getting a letter from an old friend just makes Juvia happy.” Not really wanting to think more deeply on the topic, she suggested that they get going on the mission they were taking, and Gajeel let the matter drop.


	6. Chapter 6

Summer passed into fall, and Juvia found herself frowning down at a letter from Gray. She hadn’t started reading it yet, but she’d already noticed that Gray’s hand writing was unusually shaky. She soon understood why.

> _A few days ago, Lisanna Strauss died while on a mission with her siblings. They didn’t even bring back a body to bury. I guess there wasn’t enough of it left to do so._
> 
> _This has hit everyone here hard. Elf and Mira are taking it the worst, of course - Elf because he couldn’t control his Take Over, and Mira because she was why the other two were even on such a difficult job in the first place. And Natsu has disappeared - I guess he wants to deal with whatever he’s feeling alone._
> 
> _I wasn’t as close to Lisanna as some of the others, but losing someone you know never gets easier._

There were some crossed out words - she thought she could make out something about the time of year - and then his usual signature at the bottom.

She stared down at the letter as she thought about how to reply. The life of a guild mage wasn’t a particularly safe one - some jobs were less dangerous than others, but usually the one with the big rewards were also the ones with the big risks. But that didn’t make losing a friend hurt any less, particularly in a guild with bonds as close as Fairy Tail’s.

Sitting down at her desk, she pulled out a sheet of paper and began to write.

> _Dear Gray-sama,_
> 
> _Words always seem inadequate at times like these, but know that Juvia is sincerely sorry for your loss._

She bit her lip, wondering if she should really go ahead with what she was considering writing.

> _Juvia has noticed that your letters tend to be sparser around this time of year, and she wonders if it has anything to do with the absence of your parents and teacher, and if losing a friend so close to that time may have brought back unpleasant memories._
> 
> _You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but if you wanted to tell someone about what happened to them, Juvia is here to listen. It might make you feel better, particularly if recent events have already reopened those wounds._
> 
> _With love,_  
>  _Juvia Lockser_

Juvia considered the finished letter in front of her for a long moment before folding it up and sealing it in an envelope.

* * *

Gray reread the letter Juvia had sent him and sighed. He hadn’t realized that it was apparent to her that this time of year was harder on him. And he wasn’t sure how he wanted to respond to Juvia’s suggestion. The only person he’d ever told his story to was Gramps, back when he first joined the guild. Did he really want to revisit those memories?

On the other hand, those memories were trying to resurface whether he wanted them to or not. Maybe telling someone about it would help with that. And it would be easier to write it down than tell someone in person - that way if he started crying no one would know. And if he decided he didn’t want her to know after he’s written all out, he could just rip it up instead of sending it. But if there was anyone he’d trust with this, it was Juvia. She’d told him all sorts of things about her own worries and fears, and had never judged him about anything he’d told her in return.

Sitting down to write, it was difficult to find the words. He kept hesitating, and crossing words out. Sometimes he couldn’t keep tears from leaking out. But eventually, he had it all down on paper. He read it over one last time, then got it ready to send off. Once he'd sent the letter, he was a little surprised that he felt a little better after having done so.

When she replied, Juvia thanked him for confiding in her, but didn’t say much else about it, for which he was grateful. Writing down what he'd sent to her had been hard enough - he didn't want to dwell on the subject further.

* * *

Fairy Tail gradually found a new normal without Lisanna, and time continued to pass. While Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord had never been on particularly good terms, relations between the two guilds slowly became increasingly hostile, with the Phantoms sneering at the Fairies more and more openly, and the Fairies tried to hold their tempers, knowing any outright fighting between guilds was forbidden.

As the situation between the two guilds deteriorated, Juvia's letters were also becoming unhappier over time. The letters reported increasingly arrogant behavior by the other mages in her guild, stemming from a growing belief in Phantom's superiority over other guilds, and their own superiority because they were part of the guild. They were becoming more vicious when completing jobs involving combat, and more inclined to show contempt for others - she'd even heard some mages joking about threatening clients into giving them more money for doing a job - at least she hoped it was joking.

Juvia worried about the possibility of their attitudes rubbing off on her, and that neither Gajeel nor her uncle seemed to think there was a problem. Gajeel scoffed at the idea that the guild hadn't always been quite this convinced of their preeminence, though she had noticed that he too was becoming more inclined to cruelty. And her uncle told her that they were simply starting to demand the respect that a guild of their caliber deserved. She thought that they were becoming feared, not respected, and wondered if her uncle saw or cared about the difference. She was also starting to wonder if he cared about any of the members of the guild, even her, or just wanted the glory of being the master of Fiore's most powerful guild.

While reading these letters, Gray wished that there was more he could do to help. Part of Gray wanted to suggest that she just leave Phantom Lord and come to Fairy Tail instead, but he didn't think she'd be willing to do that. Phantom Lord's guild master was her last living relative, and even with their relationship becoming more strained, he knew it wouldn't be easy for Juvia to just turn her back on him. And even if she was willing to switch guilds, who's to say that her doing so wouldn't end up sparking an all-out war between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord? So he just sent her what reassurances he could through his letters, even though that hardly felt like enough.

* * *

Over a year and a half had passed since Lisanna's death when news reached Fairy Tail that Natsu had destroyed half of Hargeon’s port while apprehending Bora of Prominence. Gray was half-pleased that Bora had gotten throughly pounded before being arrested, and half-annoyed he hadn’t been the one to do it. The guild really wasn’t sure what to make of the rumors that a young woman had been involved in the mess with Natsu, and none of them had expected him to show up at the guild with her in tow, or for her to ask to join the guild.

Nor would anyone have predicted the shift in dynamics Lucy's presence would result in, causing Gray to find himself working with Natsu and Erza more often. After the second time that the four of them and Happy had ended up on a job together, they returned to Magnolia only to find that the building that housed their guild had been destroyed. Gray knew right away who was responsible. Juvia had mentioned Gajeel Redfox quite a lot in her letters, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize the Iron Dragon Slayer’s handiwork. Gray doubted Gajeel would do something as brazen as attack their guild hall without Jose Porla ordering it, though.

When they entered the basement of the guild, the anger among the rest of their guild mates was palpable. But after punishing Gray along with Natsu and Lucy for taking an S-Class quest without permission, Gramps made it clear he wasn’t going to let Fairy Tail break the Council’s rules against warring with other guilds even over Phantom doing something like this. And no matter how angry they were, the rest of the guild would follow their master’s lead.

It was only a short time later that the Master asked to speak with Gray privately. With the upper floors destroyed, they had to go to one of the side storage areas in the basement to talk. “So, what did you want to talk to me about, Gramps?” he asked once they were alone.

Makarov sighed heavily, the carefree act he’d been sporting earlier falling away to reveal how much the situation was truly weighing on him. “It’s clear that Phantom is trying to provoke us into a fight with them. It’s probably only a matter of time until they cross a line that will force us to retaliate.” He looked Gray directly in the eyes as he continued, “I know you’re friends with one of their S-Class members, that Juvia girl you’ve been writing letters to since you were a young kid. If it comes down to it, will you be able to fight against her with your full strength?”

Gray’s jaw dropped. “Wait, what?! You know that…“ He knew that more than a few of the other guild members knew that he had a pen pal, but he’d said little about her beyond that, and he'd never mentioned that she was in Phantom Lord.

With a gentle smile, Makarov told him, “I didn’t forget about you asking me how to help someone who’s always followed by rain. It didn’t take much effort to connect that to the stories of Phantom Lord’s Ame Onna once those started to go around. And you’ve given me no reason to suspect that the two of you are no longer in touch. Am I wrong?”

He shook his head. “No, you’re right, we still keep in touch.”

Makarov nodded. “So please, think about my question. You don’t have to give me an answer, but better to consider it now before the situation ends up being sprung upon you.”

Gray wouldn’t mind fighting Juvia in a friendly match, but he didn’t like the thought of having to fight her in earnest, with their respective guilds on the line… Still, if his guild was counting on him, he couldn’t let them down, could he? She would understand, he was sure of it. Clapping a hand on Gramps’ shoulder, Gray told him, “If it comes to that, I’ll do what I have to do to protect our guild.”

Makarov gave him a weary smile. “Hopefully it won’t be necessary for you to live up to those words.”

But any remaining hope for preventing the conflict between the two guilds from turning into all-out war was dashed the next morning, when Magnolia woke up to discover Levy, Jet, and Droy bolted to a tree by iron shackles in Southgate Park. As Gray stared up at his friends in shock and anger, he wondered how a man who could do _this_ could be the same person Juvia considered a friend and trusted to watch her back on missions. Though, given what she'd written about his recent behavior…

Anyway, there was no way Fairy Tail could let this go. Phantom Lord would answer for what they'd done.


	7. Chapter 7

As Juvia watched her uncle talk to Makarov via a thought projection, she couldn't ignore the way her heart was feeling heavier and heavier in her chest. Agreeing to the job to return Lucy Heartfilia to her father was one thing, even if her joining a mage guild did seem to be more than some spoiled princess's whim - Gray had mentioned Lucy a couple of times in his letters, and the girl seemed to be keeping her status as heiress to the Heartfilia fortune a secret and sincerely trying to live and work as any other mage would - but Juvia's uncle seemed to be using the job as an excuse to try to destroy Fairy Tail completely.

After her uncle ordered Sol to take the still unconscious Lucy upstairs to her cell, she managed to get him alone for a few minutes to talk. Biting her lip, she asked, "Uncle, are you sure Phantom Lord should be taking things this far? The Council…"

He scowled at her, snapping, "How many times have I told you not to call me that when someone might overhear you?"

She flinched and bowed her head. "Sorry, Master." She shouldn't have forgotten herself, but every time he corrected her it felt like a rejection. Did her uncle see people as anything but tools to be used, even her...?

Turning away from her, a malicious grin stretched across his lips. "Don't worry about the weak fools on the Magic Council - they'll only give us a slap on the wrist when we present Fairy Tail's destruction as a fait accompli and explain how they instigated it all by interfering with our legal mission to return Lucy Heartfilia to her father. Especially once we have the fortune of the Heartfilia Konzern backing us."

"The fortune of the Heartfilia Konzern?" she questioned. Mr. Hearfilia had offered a generous reward, but not _that_ generous, and she hadn't heard anything to make her think that any long-term alliance between him and the guild was in the works.

His grin widened. "We have his precious daughter and only heir in our power now. Most men are weak fools that will do anything to keep those that they value safe from harm."

Looking at her uncle, gloating over his plans for such foul deeds, a shudder ran down her spine. How much longer she could support such a man, even if he was her only living family…?

* * *

When Gray emerged onto the top of the giant robot that Phantom Lord's headquarters had turned into, the rain falling relentlessly down on him immediately alerted him to who he was about to meet. He wasn't sure if he'd been hoping he wouldn't have to face her as an enemy like this, or if he'd prefer to be the one to fight against Juvia instead of someone else. The heaviness of the rain made him wonder if she was feeling just as torn as he was.

As he walked forward, her form became visible through the veil of raindrops obscuring it. The last time he'd seen her, they'd still been kids. Since then, she'd grown into a beautiful young woman, even in the dark, conservative clothing she favored. A teru teru bozu still hung on the front of her coat, a constant through the time he'd known her. But what caught his attention the most was the despondent expression on her face.

Juvia looked up at Gray's approach, her heart skipping a beat when she saw how strong and handsome her friend had grown. A touch of pink bloomed on her cheeks, but she pushed these feelings aside as best she could to focus on the situation. "Gray-sama. Juvia is glad that you are the one who found her, since you are the one most likely to hear her out."

Gray frowned at her. "What are you going on about? Aren't you going to fight for your guild?"

She shook her head, her expression pained. "While Juvia doesn't wish to fight you like this, if that was all it was she could put her feelings aside. But taking Lucy-san so that he can extort money from her father, and waging all-out war on Fairy Tail like this… Uncle has gone too far. Juvia can no longer support him, nor can she fight for such causes."

He nodded, his mouth set in a serious line. "So you're just going to stay out of the conflict…?"

Juvia gave him a wry smile. "If only it were that simple. The Phantom Mark II is powered through Organic Link magic tied to the members of the Element Four. The only way to stop it from destroying your guild is to knock out all four members. Juvia believes two have already fallen, but…"

Gray's eyes widened as the implications of her statement sunk in. "You can't just turn off the link to you?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

She shook her head again. "Uncle doesn't really trust anyone, so he made it so that the giant's systems will draw on the powers of the mages who were keyed into it regardless of their own desires unless they become incapacitated. And that's where you come in."

A trickle of dread ran down his spine as he looked at her sad but determined expression. "…Just what do you want me to do, Juvia?"

"Gray-sama must knock Juvia unconscious," she told him simply, confirming his fears. "Don't worry, she won't be fighting back."

He began pacing back and forth in front of her, shoving a hand roughly through his rain-soaked hair. "I… I can't _do_ that to you, Juvia… It'd be one thing if we were fighting normally, that'd suck but I could do it. But you're asking me to hurt someone who isn't even going to fight back… And not just anyone, but a _friend_. You can't ask this of me!"

Juvia sighed, looking down at her feet before looking back up at him. "It's the only way, Gray-sama. It's not like Juvia would ask for this if she had any other choice. And the longer she discusses this with you, the closer Abyss Break gets to completion." When his eyes finally met hers, her heart ached at how torn he looked. "What if you make the air around Juvia very cold, until she passes out from lack of body heat? That shouldn't hurt very much."

Gray let his head hang down, his bangs obscuring his eyes, as he thought over her proposal. After a couple of minutes, he lifted his head to look at her again, eyes pained but determined. "If that's what I gotta do…" He sighed, then told her sincerely, "Sorry 'bout this," as he brought his hands together.

As the air around her abruptly turned icy cold, she gave him a sad smile. "Juvia understands, and she trusts you." She resisted her battle-trained instinct to activate her Water Body to defend herself, but she let herself wrap her arms around herself as she started to shiver. The cold cut right through her heavy clothes like they were the thinnest of gauze, seeking to steal away every bit of warmth she possessed.

Looking around to distract herself from the way the relentless cold was starting to make her extremities burn, she gasped in wonder upon seeing that her rain was being frozen by the biting cold. Gazing upwards she saw the clouds begin to swirl and part. A small dot of blue appeared, steadily growing wider and wider. She wasn't sure what brought her to her knees, the growing numbness in her limbs or the shock of seeing a blue sky for the first time in her life.

As she began to topple backwards Gray rushed forward to wrap strong arms around her and gently lower her to the ground. Looking up at him, silhouetted against the brilliant blue of the sky, worry for her written all over his face, Juvia realized that she loved him, this broken boy who'd still had a warm enough heart to keep in touch with a lonely little girl, who'd listened to her thoughts and fears and even shared some secrets of his own, one of very few who'd been able to look past the rain that followed her and accept her. She didn't know exactly when she'd fallen for him, but the knowledge that she had made a different kind of warmth swell in her heart even as her body continued to succumb to the cold.

Reaching a hand up to touch his face with difficulty, she did her best to give him a reassuring smile. "Juvia will be fine. Please, finish this, Gray-sama…"

The chill around them had begun to wane a bit when he'd moved to catch her, but now he focused on making it ever colder in answer to her plea. Her eyes fluttered, lids drifting lower and lower before closing completely. Once her body went slack and her breathing slowed, he cut off his magic, letting the air begin to warm back up. Kneeling there beside her, he straightened her limbs, making her as comfortable as he could, and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"Gray!"

"Elfman?" Looking up at Elfman's shout of his name, Gray pushed himself up to his feet upon seeing Elfman and his sister running towards him. "Huh? What's Mira-chan doing here…?"

As they glanced around the area, Elfman asked, "Was she the third member of the Element Four?! It doesn't look like there was much of a battle here…"

"Yeah, she was," Gray answered, deciding to skip trying to explain what had happened between him and Juvia. "So we just gotta take out the last one to stop this thing."

"Oh, you already figured that out?" Mirajane asked.

"Something like that."

She nodded to Gray. "We still have some time! We can do this!"

As they moved to seek out the fourth member of the Element Four, Gray couldn't resist looking back over his shoulder at Juvia. _Rest here safely until we finish this._


	8. Chapter 8

In a sterling display of timing, a contingent of Rune Knights arrive right after Fairy Tail had pulled off a victory over Phantom Lord and took both sides of the conflict into custody. Juvia, who had come to and gotten out of Phantom Lord's mobile headquarters before Fairy Tail's guild master had unleashed some huge spell that had dissipated all of her uncle's summoned shades, had quickly agreed to cooperate with the Rune Knights' investigation. When the time came for her to be questioned, she told them all that she could remember about Jose's plans regarding Fairy Tail and Lucy Heartfilia, as well as what she and Sol had done while kidnapping Lucy the first time, and her actions during the battle between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord.

When she emerged from the tent she was being questioned in, she came face to face with Gajeel, who was standing a few feet away. He was glaring at her with anger and… was that a hint of hurt in his eyes? Betrayal? Before she could figure it out, he turned away from her without a word and stalked off. For the rest of the week the Rune Knights spent questioning people, Gajeel avoided her, aided by the fact that the Knights didn't want any of them wandering freely.

At the end of the week of questioning, all of the normal members of both guilds were released from custody, though neither guild would be able to legally go on jobs until the Magic Council handed down their verdicts. Makarov Dreyar, Master of Fairy Tail, was also released after promising to make an appearance before the Magic Council to defend his guild's actions. Jose Porla, however, was kept in custody, the Rune Knights not trusting that he wouldn't simply disappear if allowed to go.

After the detained mages were officially released, there was a lot of chaotic milling about as the members of Fairy Tail headed to their homes and those of Phantom Lord started heading back to Oak Town. Knowing that Gajeel wouldn't linger here in Magnolia for long, Juvia threaded her way through those who remained near the Rune Knight camp and hurried towards the train station, hoping to catch Gajeel before he left so she could talk things out with her friend.

Catching her breath just past the entrance of the train station, she caught sight of a distinctive mane of unruly long black hair. "Gajeel-kun!" she called out to him.

When he turned, she shivered at the amount of anger his eyes held. "Why should I listen to a traitor like you?!"

Juvia flinched. She knew her actions during the battle between the guilds could be seen in that light, but she'd only done what she did because their side was wrong, and fighting Fairy Tail would only lead the guild to ruin… as it had ended up doing. She tried to come up with words to explain herself, but what Gajeel shouted next threw her for a loop.

"Why didn't ya ever say that guy you always wrote to was a Fairy?! Did you tell them how to defeat the robot? Other guild secrets and weaknesses?!" He stared her down as he shouted questions at her.

She blinked, taken aback, and then felt a hot anger begin to rise in her. "Gray-sama has been Juvia's friend since before either one joined a guild! And Juvia told him _nothing_ that could be used against Phantom Lord in her letters!"

"So how'd they manage to take us down so easy, huh?! You even told those nosy bastards that you told the Fairies about how the robot worked and let them take you out without a fight!" Gajeel shot back at her.

"Juvia only did that because what Phantom Lord was doing, picking a fight with Fairy Tail just to prove who was stronger, and planning to use Lucy-san to extort her father, was _wrong_!" Juvia retorted. "And Fairy Tail won because they were never as weak as the Master said they were! You don't have to trample over others just to prove you're better than them!"

"Fine!" Gajeel spat at her. "Go join your new Fairy friends then, and leave the rest of us behind! We're through!" Turning, he stormed off towards the ticket booths.

"Phantom Lord isn't worthy of your loyalty, Gajeel-kun!" she shouted after him. "Uncle doesn't care about you, or Juvia, or any of the guild! They're all just tools to bring him glory!" He gave no sign of having heard her as he disappeared into the crowds of the station.

Taking a minute to catch her breath, she realized that tears had begun to fall down her cheeks at some point during their argument. Would she ever see Gajeel again? She didn't want their friendship to end this way, but he hadn't wanted to really listen to her, and he'd accused her of things she'd never do…!

Once she thought she'd regained her composure, she decided to find an inn to stay in overnight while she considered her options. She almost bumped into Gray right outside of the train station. "There you are, Juvia! I was hoping you hadn't-" he paused as he got a good look at her face. "Hey, have you been crying…?"

Wiping at her eyes, she tried to smile at him. "Juvia got into an argument with Gajeel-kun, that's all."

Gray's expression darkened for a moment but he chose not to comment on that further, changing the subject instead. "Well, I figure you're not welcome in Phantom Lord after what you did, so I was wondering, um… Would you like to join Fairy Tail?" His expression was both a little hopeful and a little nervous when he asked.

Juvia blinked at him. Her heart leapt at the thought of being in the same guild as Gray and getting to see him almost every day, but… Biting her lip, she looked away as she asked, "Do you think they would even let Juvia join, after what Phantom Lord did?"

Reaching out, Gray put a reassuring hand on one of Juvia's shoulders. "I think Gramps will understand your circumstances, and what you did during the battle will work in your favor, too. It may take time for some of the members to warm up to you, though."

She nodded. "Then Juvia would like to try."

Patting her shoulder, he smiled and said, "That's my girl." Not noticing the way his words turned Juvia's cheeks pink, he lead them back through Magnolia. Noticing that they were getting close to where Fairy Tail's guild hall had stood, she wondered exactly where they were going - the building had completely collapsed during the battle between guilds, so they couldn't be going there.

Turning onto a side street about a block away from the guild, they approached a house that wasn't particularly large, though it wasn't small, either, and was put together with a somewhat whimsical feel. Gray knocked on the door, then opened it - apparently it wasn't locked - and called out, "Sorry to bother you, Gramps, but I have someone with me who'd like to talk to you."

Juvia followed Gray down a hallway and through a door into a living room. Seated comfortably on a couch in front of the fireplace, with a book open in his lap, was Makarov Dreyar, Master of Fairy Tail. She hesitated, but Gray gently pushed her toward the old man, who set his book aside to fix her with a solemn gaze. "You are Juvia Lockser, lately of the Phantom Lord guild, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir," she replied, bowing her head.

"And what brings you to my humble abode this evening, dear?" Makarov asked.

She glanced at Gray, who gave her an encouraging nod, before turning back to Makarov and stating, "First of all, Juvia would like to apologize for her role in the taking of Lucy Heartfilia-san and her guild's unprovoked attacks on Fairy Tail."

"The apology is appreciated, child, but I believe your actions during the battle proved your remorse sufficiently even without one," he told her gently.

She nodded, then continued, "the other reason Juvia is here, is that she would like to petition you to join the Fairy Tail guild." Her head was bowed and her hands were clasped before her as she awaited the Master's response.

"You realize that some of the members will still bear animosity towards you for what Phantom Lord did to us, do you not?" He asked her solemnly. At her nod, he continued, "Are you prepared to face this until when or if you win them over?"

"Yes, Juvia is," she told him firmly. "Gray-sama… he has told Juvia much about those who call Fairy Tail home, and she feels as though she loves them all already. Juvia just hopes in time they will feel the same way about her, and she's willing to work to earn their trust."

His face breaking out into a smile, he told her, "Then welcome to the guild. Mirajane will give you your new guild mark in the morning." Juvia nodding, remembering that she still hadn't had a chance to remove her previous one. Even though she was firm in her choice to leave Phantom Lord, the thought of removing her guildmark made her heart ache a little. "Is that all you wished to ask of me, dear?"

Biting her lip, Juvia thought back to her fight with Gajeel, how bitterly he had told her to join Fairy Tail and leave him behind, and the likelihood he would head back to Denish, to return to living in junkyards alone like he did before joining Phantom Lord if Phantom Lord ended up being disbanded. "Actually," she replied, "there is one more request Juvia would like to make." Once she was sure she had Makarov's attention again, she continued, "she would like to ask you to consider allowing Gajeel-kun to join Fairy Tail as well, if Phantom Lord ends up being disbanded."

"What-!" Gray had been content to stand back and listen while Juvia and Makarov talked, but he couldn't help but react to that statement. Turning to Juvia, he told her, "I know he's your friend, but think about what you're asking for…! He wrecked our guild hall, severely assaulted several of our members, and was the one to return Lucy to Phantom's clutches."

"Juvia knows that, but…" Her hands clutching each other, she stared down at her feet. "Gajeel-kun would never admit it out loud, but he truly wishes to be accepted and respected by others. He thought that by being Phantom Lord's strongest, and following Un-our Master's orders and making him happy, he would gain those things. If Phantom Lord ceases to exist, Gajeel-kun will be left alone again, and Juvia doubts that another legal guild will accept him with his reputation. She worries that he might become desperate enough that if a dark guild approached him in the right way, and played on those desires…"

Sinking to her knees, she bowed deeply towards Makarov. "Please find it in your heart to reach out to him! If you don't, he might… might-!"

Feeling a small hand on her shoulder, Juvia looked up into Makarov's sympathetic face. "Someone who still has a friend who will beg so sincerely for someone to help him can't be beyond saving. If Phantom Lord disbands, I will approach him and offer him a chance to choose a better path than the one he's been on, but it will be up to him to take it. Does that satisfy your request?"

Juvia nodded fervently. "It does indeed. Thank you so much…!"

Makarov chuckled. "No need for such profuse thanks, my dear. Keeping those younger than ourselves from losing themselves is part of the duties of the older generation." Patting her shoulder, he continued, "Now why don't you get up and find yourself a room at an inn for tonight, and tomorrow we'll introduce you to the rest of the guild and Erza can help you get settled in at Fairy Hills, now how does that sound?"

Standing up, Juvia bowed towards Makarov once more. "That sounds wonderful, Master. Thank you once again…!"

After they were showed out of Makarov's house, Gray offered to help her find a place to stay for the night. As they walked together through the streets of Magnolia, Juvia realized that despite the recent turmoil and her remaining worries, she was feeling more hopeful about what the future might hold than she had in years.


	9. Chapter 9

In the morning, Gray picked Juvia up from the inn she was staying at and brought her to where the guild hall had been. A hush fell over the members already assembled there as they caught sight of Juvia. She lowered her head, seeming to shrink into herself a bit, and he put a reassuring hand on her back as he lead her over to Gramps.

Turning to address the crowd, Gramps declared, "This young woman is Juvia Lockser. She has asked to join our guild, and I have accepted her as one of us." There was murmuring from the crowd, and Gray frowned as he caught the word 'Phantom'. "I am well aware of her previous affiliation," Makarov continued, "but I am satisfied with the accounting she's given of herself and believe she will be nothing but a loyal member of this guild from here on out."

"And anyone who gives her grief about having been in Phantom is going to have me to deal with," Gray added, arms crossed over his chest and expression determined. Juvia gave him a startled but grateful look, and even seemed to be blushing a bit for some reason.

When Gramps called Mirajane over to give Juvia her guild stamp, Mira was nothing but pleasant to her, thankfully. She chose to have her new guild mark placed on her left thigh, and Gray found himself blushing but unable to look away as Juvia lifted the edge of her skirt to allow Mira to place it there.

Once Mira was done, Juvia started looking around. "What're you looking for?" he asked.

Turning to him, she explained, "Juvia is looking for Lucy-san. She wants to apologize for her actions when kidnapping her."

Looking around himself, it didn't take him that long to spot Lucy. Pointing her out, he said, "There she is, towards the back of the crowd. Do you want me to come with you?"

She shook her head. "Thank you for the offer, Gray-sama, but this is something Juvia should do alone."

"Alright." He watched somewhat pensively as she walked over to Lucy, bowing deeply before her. Lucy looked a little nervous but seemed to be willing to accept Juvia's apology.

An arm being thrown over his shoulders dragged his attention away from the scene he was watching, and he looked to his right to find Cana grinning at him. "So, you've taken a liking to our newest member, huh? That was real white knight stuff, what you said about people giving her shit having to deal with you."

Gray felt his cheeks heating up a bit as he frowned at Cana. "It's not like that - she's an old friend, the one I've been writing letters to for years."

"Oh ho," she responded. "So we finally get to know who she actually is, huh? You never said she was cute."

He rolled his eyes. "I hadn't seen her in person for years until recently. And you sound like Loke." Gray looked around with a frown. "Hey, speaking of Loke, have you seen him around?"

Cana shook her head. "Haven't seen him since the questioning ended."

Gray's frown deepened. "I hope he's okay."

"Probably just visiting one of his girlfriends or something." Even though Cana waved off his concern, she looked a little worried, too.

Nodding, he replied, "I may go looking for him if he doesn't show back up soon."

Looking towards where Juvia and Lucy had been speaking, he only saw Juvia standing there now. After saying bye to Cana, he made his way over to Juvia. "Where'd Lucy go?" he asked.

"Her injuries are still painful, so she went home," Juvia explained, an expression of regret on her face.

"Did you get things straightened out with her?"

She brightened a little. "Yes, Lucy-san accepted Juvia's apology with grace."

"Good." He smiled. "You should probably go ahead and talk to Erza now, so she can help you get set up in Fairy Hills."

After pointing Juvia in the right direction, he joined the rest of the members of the guild in starting to clear away the wreckage of the old building so that they could rebuild in the same place. He went to bed exhausted from the backbreaking labor involved, but the lot was mostly cleared by the end of the day.

Construction work occupied most of the guild for the next few days. Juvia joined in on the rebuilding effort on the afternoon of the day after she'd joined the guild officially. She told him she'd spent the time in between getting set up in Fairy Hills and taking care of everything she needed to do to leave Oaktown for good.

Loke showed up with Lucy's keys the morning after that, but Gray's mind wasn't entirely put to rest - his friend looked terrible, and didn't even comment on there being a new young and female member of the guild. But he was distracted by the mystery of Lucy vanishing from Magnolia, and he put the matter out of his mind while they chased her down to her family's estate. (Man, he'd known the Heartfilias were rich, but how much land they owned had still been shocking.)

A couple of days later, as he and Juvia were walking to get lunch - they'd started to make a bit of a habit of that since Juvia had joined Fairy Tail - she was fingering a lock of her hair as she asked, "Do you think Juvia should change how she looks?"

"How you look?" he replied, puzzled. "In what way?"

"Juvia was thinking of maybe changing how she does her hair, and how she dresses. Since Juvia doesn't bring rain with her everywhere she goes anymore, and is in a new guild, maybe it's time for a fresh start. She could show everyone she isn't Phantom Lord's Ameonna anymore," she explained.

"Well, I can't blame you for wanting a fresh start," he said thoughtfully, "but you kinda sound like you're trying to reject the person you used to be. But she's the one who made all the choices that eventually brought you here, right? Good or bad, you can't deny what happened in your past. Besides, the old you is the one who became friends with me, so she couldn't be all bad, right?"

When he looked over at her, she seemed to be blushing again. It was kinda weird, how she did that more now than she'd seemed to when she was younger. Or maybe he was just noticing it more now that he got to see her more often? "So, what does Gray-sama think Juvia should do?"

"Why don't you start by changing something small, and seeing if you like the change, instead of changing a bunch of stuff all at once?" he suggested. Looking her over, he saw that she was still tugging at a lock of her hair. "You could trying leaving your hair down instead of curling it, or something?"

There was an odd look in her eyes as she turned towards him. "Would Gray-sama like it if Juvia left her hair down?"

He shrugged. "I'm a little curious about it, I guess."

"Juvia will think about your suggestion, then."

After they returned from lunch, they got a couple of surprises - Fairy Tail had been found innocent by the Magic Council, so Mira was able to open up a temporary job counter while the guild was being rebuilt, and Laxus had returned from whatever job he'd been on while everything with Phantom Lord went down. Like usual, Laxus felt the need to talk down to the rest of them. They were standing near Lucy when Laxus mouthed off to Levy and her team about what Gajeel had done to them.

"How dare you…" Lucy hissed out from between gritted teeth.

"Well, well! If it isn't the chickie who's the root cause of it all!" Laxus sneered. Gray tried to subtly shift to block Juvia from Laxus's view, but he spotted her anyway. "And the old man is even letting in some of Phantom's leftovers."

Gray bristled at that, but Juvia put a restraining hand on his shoulder, shaking her head at him while looking down. Laxus spouted off for a while more about wanting Fairy Tail to be the strongest guild before leaving. Once he was gone, Gray muttered, "He's full of shit."

Juvia looked troubled as she said, "For as much as he kept calling Phantom weak, his attitude would've fit in better there than in Fairy Tail."

Doing his best to give her a reassuring smile he told her, "Don't worry about it, Gramps would never let him get away with something like that."

That was when Erza rejoined the conversation. "It's over," she told a fuming Natsu. "If we expend our energy on him, we'll just exhaust ourselves. Let's turn to a more pressing matter. What do you think? Do you feel like taking on a job?"

"Wha?" Natsu was clearly surprised by the question.

And Gray was just as surprised when Erza turned to address him as well. "Of course, Gray and Lucy will come along, too. We've been working together anyway since the Eisenwald incident. Why don't we officially form a team? Just us four - no, five, including Happy."

While Lucy seemed excited at the prospect, to say Gray was shocked by the proposal would be an understatement. Saying that they'd been working together since fighting Eisenwald was a bit of a stretch - they'd only gone on the Galuna Island job since then, and they'd hardly been united from the start on that one. And Erza had preferred to work solo ever since she joined the guild - why change that now? Vaguely registering that other guild members were commenting about the potential team, he gathered himself and spoke up before this could get out of hand. "Sorry, but I'll have to pass for now. Gramps asked me to show our newest member the ropes once we were able to take jobs again." As he showed who he was talking about with a jerk of his thumb, Juvia, who had been hanging back listening to the four of them, jumped a little at the sudden attention directed her way.

Considering this, Erza murmured, "Master's orders, hmm…" Her eyes regaining their determination as she reached a decision, she stated, "Then Juvia will just have to come with us for now. We can all show her how Fairy Tail does things together. Any other problems?" Everyone was quick to demur, including a taken aback Juvia. Gray wasn't thrilled to be forced into Natsu's company, but no one argued with Erza unless they liked pain.

Pulling out a flyer, Erza continued, "Very well. Here's our first job! We're to go and take down a secret magic fraternity in the castle town of Lupinus!" Looking over the group, she finished, "Let's go!"

After everyone's enthusiastic agreement, they left for the train station. As they walked, Juvia leaned towards him and whispered, "Erza-san really is a force of nature, isn't she?" He had to nod his fervent agreement to that.

With the strength of their group, the group they were sent after stood no chance against them. Unfortunately, certain pink haired Dragon Slayers have no sense of proportion or restraint, so they ended up wrecking half of Lupinus in the process. Well, okay, not _all_ of the property damage was Natsu's fault. Just most of it. And he might have gotten in trouble for public indecency again if Juvia hadn't been doing her best to keep track of his clothes.

Speaking of Juvia, it turned out that they worked really well together - it was easier for him to make ice if she supplied the water for it, and when she trapped people with water he could freeze it to make it much harder for them to get out. And she clearly had plenty of experience with taking care of herself in a fight. On the train ride back, he told her, "You did really well."

She blushed again (seriously, what was with all the blushing?) as she lowered her gaze, her lips curling up in a small smile. "Thank you. Gray-sama is very skilled himself, and Juvia enjoyed fighting beside him."

"I think you'll be an excellent addition to the guild," Erza broke in, causing both of them to jump a little - they'd kind of forgotten that Erza, Lucy, and a passed out Natsu were sitting across from them.

"Thank you, Erza-san," she replied, still smiling. "Juvia will continue to do her best."

As Juvia continued chatting with Erza and Lucy, Gray couldn't help feeling pleased that his friend seemed to be settling into the guild quite well.


	10. Chapter 10

After joining Fairy Tail, Juvia finally had a chance to meet many people she'd only known from Gray's letters before. Erza was much like Juvia'd imagined her to be, strict but caring. Natsu was hot-tempered, reckless, and loved to fight, but was also friendly - at least if you didn't get on his nerves like Gray tended to. Of course, when they fought she had to chose Gray's side. Gray hadn't exaggerated Cana's drinking habits, but she was also warm and funny. Lucy was rather ungraceful for a rich heiress, and her taste in fashion was completely unsuited to the rigors of mage jobs, but she was very kind, too.

Her reception by the guild had definitely been better than she feared it might be, though some were still wary around her. She would just have to do her best to prove that she could be trusted to those that still doubted her intentions. And really, she couldn't blame the ones Gajeel had brutalized for being uncomfortable around her.

The day after Juvia went on her first job as a Fairy Tail mage, both she and Gray had eaten breakfast and gotten to Fairy Tail a bit earlier than usual. As they were discussing whether to help with construction for a bit or wait to see if Erza and the others would show up soon, they both heard footsteps approaching and turned to see who it was. "Oh, hey, man! You're looking a bit better."

Juvia recognized the young man approaching them as Loke from the pictures she'd seen of him in Sorcerer Weekly. "Hey," he greeted Gray. "Yeah, just had a cold or something." She thought his smile looked a little nervous, though. Spotting her, he asked, "And who is this? I must've been really out of it to miss Fairy Tail adding such a beauty to its ranks." She felt herself flushing a bit - she hadn't had a man say things like that to her since, well, Bora…

Irritated, Gray whapped Loke lightly on the arm. "Can't you lay off the flirting for a minute? This is Juvia Lockser, formerly of Phantom Lord's Element Four."

Loke looked thoughtful for a moment, then declared, "Oh, this is the girl who sends you Valentines chocolates, isn't it?" He smiled slyly as he continued, "You never said that she was this cute."

Juvia blinked a little at how Loke identified her, while Gray grumbled, "I told you I hadn't seen her in person for years."

"It looks like you were missing out, then," Loke commented. Turning back to her, he continued. "I hope Fairy Tail has been making you feel properly welcomed, and if you have questions I'd be glad to help you out. Though perhaps you would prefer Gray's assistance…"

She felt herself turn red at the insinuation. Was she that obvious about how she felt about Gray? Or had he just been guessing? With the way his smile turned smug at her reaction, it could have been either.

Shoving Loke none-too-gently, Gray told him, "Quit it!"

Still smiling, Loke replied, "Okay, okay, I won't bother your girl anymore."

Juvia flushed even more as Gray sputtered out an, "She's not my girl!" before asking, "Don't you have anything better to do?!"

Looking up at the sky, Loke said, "Actually, I probably should be getting a move on." Starting to make his way over to Mira's makeshift job counter, he waved to them. "Bye, Gray! Lovely to meet you, Juvia!"

Gray let out an exasperated huff as he watched Loke leave. "He's a good guy, just ignore him when he starts saying stupid stuff like that, okay?"

"Alright, Gray-sama," she replied with a nod. Shortly after Loke had selected a job and left, Lucy, Natsu, Happy, and Erza arrived one by one, and Erza procured another job for the six of them.

Juvia didn't meet Loke again until over a week and a few jobs (including one to help put on a poorly-written play) later. The team had easily taken out a bandit gang that had holed up in a ruined fortress near the village of Impatiens, finishing the job in less time than expected. They were heading back to their inn, debating whether or not they should stay the night since they'd already booked their rooms for it, when Lucy asked, "Hm? Over there… Isn't that Loke?"

Sure enough, Loke was standing further down the street, hands stuffed casually in the pockets of his jacket. They all started heading in his direction, Gray calling out, "Well, this is a coincidence!"

"You're on a job in this area too?" Natsu added.

"You guys are too?" Loke asked, looking pleasantly surprised to see them.

Lucy stepped forward next and said, "Oh, this is perfect! When you returned my keys-"

As soon as he spotted Lucy, Loke's expression turned into a grimace and he cried out, "Lucy!!" After a moment he seemed to pull himself together a bit, but he was still clearly uneasy when he told Lucy, "Well, I have work to do, so…" As soon as he'd finished what he was saying, he hastily fled the area, leaving them all staring after him in puzzlement.

Lucy finally burst out with, "What was that supposed to be?!"

Turning towards Lucy, Gray asked, "Did you do something awful to him? I'm pretty sure it's you he's avoiding."

"I haven't done a thing!" Lucy protested.

As they started towards their inn again, Juvia walked next to Gray and quietly asked, "Does Gray-sama really think Lucy-san did something bad to Loke? She doesn't strike Juvia as the type to be nasty to someone without a reason."

Shaking his head a little, Gray murmured back, "I don't know. Loke's mentioned before that something bad had happened between him and a Celestial Spirit mage, but his reaction seems kinda extreme just to be because Lucy uses the same type of magic…"

They were soon distracted from the strangeness of Loke's reaction by the amenities of the inn they were staying at. Designed in a style of a country far to the east of Fiore, one of the inn's many features was a pair of hot springs, one for men and one for women. As she stripped down and washed herself prior to entering the hot spring, Juvia felt nervousness growing in the pit of her stomach. She'd never had female friends before, so she'd never gone somewhere like this, either. And the girls in the school she'd attended as a child had been just as nasty to her because of her rain as the boys had been.

Gathering her courage, Juvia wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out of the bathhouse towards the hot spring. Lucy was leaning against the edge of the pool, apparently lost in thought, while Erza was splashing water at a dragonfly to chase it away. They both looked up when Juvia stepped down into the spring, sending ripples across the surface of the water.

"Hello, Juvia," Erza greeted.

"Hi, Juvia," Lucy said as well. Eyeing the towel wrapped around Juvia, she added, "You know it's just us girls in here, right?"

"Juvia knows," she replied. "But she feels more comfortable this way."

Lucy gave her a sort of 'suit yourself' shrug and went back to leaning against the rim of the pool and staring off into the distance. Apparently willing to let Lucy retreat into her own thoughts, Erza addressed Juvia, asking, "You have been a member of Fairy Tail for a few weeks now. How are you settling in?"

"Juvia is doing very well," she replied. "Fairy Tail is definitely different from her old guild, but she likes it better here. Going on jobs with you all has been very fun."

"I'm glad to hear that," Erza told her earnestly before commenting, "You and Gray seem to be close. The two of you were pen pals for some time before you joined, were you not?"

Nodding, she explained, "Juvia met Gray-sama when she was a child, before either of them had joined a guild. Juvia was traveling to meet her uncle, and Gray-sama stopped a thief that had stolen the present she was carrying. She asked him to write to her once he got settled somewhere so she could send him a reward."

"That's a sweet story," Erza told her, giving her a slightly wistful smile. "Gray is very important to you, isn't he?"

She could feel her cheeks turning pink as she nodded again. "Gray-sama saved Juvia in a small way then, and he saved her in a larger way when he took away her rain during the battle. And he let Juvia pour out her worries into her letters, and did what he could to encourage her."

Erza placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her straight in the eyes. "I'm glad that you have someone like that in your life. Don't let him be taken away from you." Erza's smile had turned small and sad.

Juvia studied Erza for a moment, wondering if she had experienced something that made her give such advice, but was distracted when Lucy broke into the conversation with, "I think Juvia has a crush on Gray." Lucy had a teasing smirk on her face.

Her face going red, she whined, "Lucy-san…!" and sent a wave of water across the spring to where Lucy was, drenching her throughly and making her sputter. Lucy tried to splash her back, but was too far away to do much to her.

Juvia was getting ready to send another wave towards Lucy when Erza stood up in the middle of the pool, placing her hands on her hips. "Enough! If you two are going to act like children, we've been soaking here long enough."

After they dried off, they returned to their room and started getting ready for bed. The rooms here had an unusual construction, with sliding screens made out of wood and paper for doors and woven mats for floors. They also had mattresses that were unfolded and placed on the floor instead of normal beds.

She was about to lay down to sleep when Natsu began making a lot of noise from the boys' room about having a pillow fight. Erza immediately scooped up all of the pillows from the girls' room and marched over to the boy's room. Juvia trailed after Erza curiously - she'd read about pillow fights, but had never been involved in one.

As she watched the battle grow to include Gray and Lucy as well as Erza and Natsu, Juvia decided she wanted to be part of it, too. After Lucy had been knocked out through the doors to the outside - she really needed to work on her ability to take a hit - Juvia moved to grab one of the pillows that had ended up on the floor, then threw it at Natsu, managing to hit him on the side of his head. Gray laughed, while Natsu growled and threw his next pillow at her, only for her to invoke her Water Body to let it fly through her harmlessly.

The pillow fight was vicious, with only attacking using magic being forbidden - Erza had smacked Natsu over the head when he'd tried. It was every person for themselves, and she found herself attacking even Gray during the chaos. But when exhaustion and injury (on the boys' part, at least) drew the fighting to a close, Juvia found herself grinning. Participating in things like this made feel a warmth in her heart, not the same as the feeling she got around Gray but just as worthy of being treasured.

Both Juvia and Erza had already laid down to sleep when Lucy came storming into the girls' room. Juvia wondered what had upset her like that, but was too tired to ask her then. If it was something serious, they would likely learn more about it soon enough.


End file.
